Emily shut off her cell phone. Again, Banjo had not picked up the call. She sighed as she checked her reflection in the rear view mirror one more time before exiting the car.
She looked up at the imposing building in front of her and took a bracing breath.
As she walked into the reception lobby and approached the receptionist, she could not help but admire the ambience of the entrance lobby around her. This was what she hoped that Olaoye and Co. would be able to afford in the not too distant future.
“Good afternoon. How may I assist you?” the smartly dressed receptionist asked her.
“I…good afternoon. I would like to speak with the president?” Emily requested.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“I imagine so. Olaoye and Co. Legal practitioners.” Emily responded.
The receptionist consulted the computer in front of her and turned to Emily with a smile.
“You do. In five minutes. Please use the elevator to the fifth floor. There will be someone to direct you once you get off.” She directed.
“Thank you.” Emily said as she made her way toward the bank of elevators tucked away at the end of the lobby. The receptionist barely acknowledged her greeting as she was back on the phone apparently directing someone else.
On exiting the elevator at the fifth floor, she was met by a dapperly dressed young man who asked her to follow him. They went down the corridor making a couple of turns before entering yet another elevator. Emily felt her eyebrows rising. She wondered at the reason for all the security controls. ‘Hey! Who’s after his life?’ but on second thought, she guessed one could not be too careful at his level of success.
The elevator noiselessly came to a stop and slid open to a wide space even more breathtaking than the lobby she had so admired below.
“Good afternoon Ms. Olaoye.” A genteel looking lady greeted in very cultured tones. Before Emily could respond to the greeting, she continued. “Your father had called ahead and Mr. Okorie is expecting you. This way please.” She directed. Soon, Emily stood in front of a wide double door, a little intimidated at this point.
“You may go in now.” The lady said as she turned and went back to her desk.
Emily rapped her knuckles on the door and walked into yet another beautifully appointed office. And oh my! The view out of the floor to ceiling window! She had been to this place a few times but had never realized that there was a large expanse of property at the back of the building. Someone had paid good money to have it beautifully landscaped.
She turned now to look at the ‘person’ who controlled the big bucks with her most professional smile plastered on her face. Her smile almost stuttered. She had no idea what she had been expecting but it was not him. He was…ordinary, almost plain to look at. He was not ugly but neither was he what you could call handsome. But he held himself with such dignity that for all his plain looks it somehow projected that you were in the presence of ‘someone’.
“Good evening Sir.” Emily greeted unable to help herself as she stared at him with undisguised curiosity.
“Good evening. You have the contract with you?” he asked. Apparently he was economical to the point of gruffness with his words.
“Yes I do.” Emily responded and moved forward to hand over the file she had retrieved from her briefcase to him.
“Please sit down.” He said. His voice was coarse and a bit gravelly. It was a distinctive voice and such a contrast to his physical appearance that Emily had to smile at it.
He remained standing behind his desk as he thumbed through the papers in the file. He then took out the first one and walked over to an arrangement of settees that faced out towards those beautiful windows.
“I’ll just go through and we can finalize this.” He said and proceeded to do just so.
Finding that he did not immediately require her attention, Emily turned back to admire her surroundings. The softness of the plush rugs that seemed to invite her to lie down, the marble that peeked through the scattering of those rugs, the huge ‘in-your-face’ desk which surprisingly looked like it was really a workstation not just an ode to ostentation, the artwork strategically displayed on the wall and around the office, she was sure she recognized the works of an up and coming local artist that was making a name for himself both locally and internationally.
She had not realized that time had indeed flown by until Mr. Okorie got up and walked back towards her.
“I…this should be fine. I made a few adjustments. Have it sent back to me for signing tomorrow. Before twelve noon.” He instructed as he handed over the file back to Emily. Emily glanced at her wristwatch and was amazed to discover that she had spent almost two hours at his office.
She got up, thanked him and made her way out of the office. She supposed that she should be bristling. Her father had made it sound like she was going to have to explain and argue some points with him but she found that her enjoyment of the scenery doused any irritation that she may have been wont to feel.
As she made her way down the elevator, she briskly went over the adjustments he had made. She had to admit that he was a keen businessman. He definitely seemed to know what he wanted and how to get it.
It had begun to rain while she had been making her way down and it was pouring cats and dogs. She would have to wait for the rain to subside before she could reach her car at the back of the parking lot. As she waited, it began to get dark and yet, the rain just kept pouring. She was just about to go in and ask the receptionist for an umbrella when the swing doors behind her opened and the lady herself stumbled out clutching a cell phone to her ear.
“No Sir. He hasn’t arrived.” She responded to someone on the other end of the line. “I’m outside sir.” “No, I can’t see him.” she sighed softly. “I’ll do that Sir.” She announced as she turned to stalk back into the building.
Emily toggled the wisdom of going after her in her mind and decided to wait out the rain. She sighed and leaned against the columns at the side of the canopied entrance.
“You are still here.” The receptionist said as she came back out of the building.
Emily lifted her hand to indicate the rain by way of response.
The young lady made some non-committal sounds that sounded like commiseration or something just as polite.
Her cell phone rang again and she picked it up.
“Yes Sir.” She answered. “I’m standing outside.” “No Sir. Just the lady that came to see you earlier this evening.” “From the law firm, yes sir.” “Oh! Okay…” she turned to Emily, “Did you come in a car?” she asked.
Emily nodded her head in intrigued stupefaction.
“Yes, she did Sir.” She listened for a moment and nodded. “Alright Sir.” She clicked off the phone.
“Please, if you don’t mind, can you wait for my boss to come down here?”
“Alright.” Emily shrugged. What difference would it make? She obviously was not going to make it to Banjo’s house this evening anyway.
In no time at all, Mr. Okorie was standing beside her.
“I was wondering if I could catch a ride with you?” he asked.
Emily peered at him in the gathering dusk to determine how serious he was. He was peering back at her!
“Ehm…Okay.” She answered dubiously.
Kenneth sighed. “My driver is stuck in traffic somewhere and I need to leave now.” He turned towards her more fully. “I really…can you help me?” he asked.
“Oh! Okay.” Emily said. Luckily, he had an umbrella with him which he opened and held over both their heads as they made their way to the car. It was while he tried to fit himself into her car that Emily came to a startling realization. He was a big man physically as well. Somehow, that had escaped her notice at the office.
“Ah…you’ll need to fasten your seat belt.” She admonished as she turned the ignition on the car. Kenneth scrambled around his seat a short while before he was able to snap the seat belt on. He peered through he
r windscreen and then turned to peer at her. A small frown appeared on Emily’s forehead.
“Is there a problem Sir?” Emily asked.
“No. Why?” he answered his eyes going owlishly wide.
“Ah…it’s nothing. Where do you live?” she asked in turn.
“Shoreline.” He responded looking back as she backed out of the parking space.
“I really do know how to drive.” Emily remarked in a conversational tone. He turned to her in surprise, a small smile flitting around his lips.
“Obviously. You drove yourself here didn’t you? And through rush hour traffic.”
“I just wanted to reassure you.”
He huffed out a small laugh and settled back in his seat.
“I would have wondered.” He said softly, his voice more gravelly for the softness.
“Wondered what exactly?” Emily asked amazed at her own boldness.
“If you were really Bolanre Olaoye’s daughter.” He replied.
It was Emily’s turn to huff out a laugh. “Indeed I am.” She smiled as she drove out into the street. She noticed him peering out the windscreen again.
“Why do you keep doing that?” she asked.
“What?” he asked an eyebrow raised in an expression so boyishly cocky that it almost made him handsome.
“Peering, squinting at my windscreen.”
He was quiet for a moment and Emily thought he was not going to respond.
“I forgot my glasses at home today.” He said and Emily turned in amazement to look at him. Fancy that! The Almighty Mr. Okorie was shortsighted! For some reason, it was so incongruous to Emily that she burst out laughing hysterically over it.
“And it’s amusing because?’” he asked in a mildly offended tone.
“Of all things, it was just the last thing I would have thought. Short sighted?” she hiccupped.
He did not bother responding to her, just turned back to look out the windscreen a puzzled frown and a small smile playing across his face.